Under these circumstances, after ¹so many thousands of ²people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “^aBeware of the ³leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 ^aBut there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ¹whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on ^athe housetops.

4 “Now I say to you, ^aMy friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: ^afear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ^1bhell; yes, I tell you, fear ²Him! 6 Are ^afive sparrows not sold for two ¹assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 7 ^aBut even the hairs of your head are all counted. ¹Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

8 “Now I say to you, everyone who ^aconfesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; 9 but ^athe one who denies Me before people will be denied ^bbefore the angels of God. 10 ^aAnd everyone who ¹speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 Now when they bring you before ^athe synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not ^bworry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12 for ^athe Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

13 Now someone ¹in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “^1aYou there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” 15 But He said to them, “^aBeware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to ¹myself, “^aYou have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘^aYou fool! This very night ^1byour soul is demanded of you; and ^cas for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21 Such is the one who ^astores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

22 And He said to His disciples, “^aFor this reason I tell you, ¹do not worry about your ²life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ^aravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^bbarn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a ^1aday to his ²life’s span? 26 Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor ¹spin; but I tell you, not even ^aSolomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^aYou of little faith! 29 And do not ¹seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^akeep worrying. 30 For ¹all these things are what the nations of the world ²eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But ¹seek His kingdom, and ^athese things will be ²provided to you. 32 ^1aDo not be afraid, ^blittle flock, because ^cyour Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

33 “^aSell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, ^ban inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34 For ^awhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

35 “^1aBe prepared, and keep your ^blamps lit. 36 You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^aon the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^bhe will ¹prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. 38 ^aWhether he comes in the ¹second watch, or even in the ²third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 “^aBut ¹be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be ^bbroken into. 40 ^aYou too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

41 Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or ^ato everyone else as well?” 42 And ^athe Lord said, “^bWho then is the faithful and sensible ^csteward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that ^aslave whom his ¹master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will ¹cut him in two, and assign ²him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will ^areceive many blows, 48 but the one who did not ^aknow it, and committed acts deserving of ¹a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^bFrom everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

49 “I ¹have come to cast fire upon the earth; and ²how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a ^abaptism ¹to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 ^aDo you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, ^afather against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “^aWhenever you see a cloud rising ¹in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 And whenever you feel a ¹south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^ahot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56 You hypocrites! ^aYou know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

57 “And ^awhy do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? 58 For ^awhen you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ¹settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up ¹the very last ^2alepton.”